"Phat Tuesdays"
A new docuseries on Prime Video tells the story of Phat Tuesdays, a weekly all-Black comedy night at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, held from 1995 to 2005.
Video Transcript
- How did you hear about Phat Tuesdays?
- How did you hear about Jesus?
[LAUGHING]
People told you.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
GUY TORRY: It's 1995. Comics back then were predominantly white. And I said, man, there's so many funny people doing comedy in the hood. But there was no one there to see them. And I was like, OK. I'ma change that shit.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- Guy was like, Hollywood don't want to come to the hood. So let's take the hood to Hollywood.
GUY TORRY: Every Tuesday, it's in this room. Phat Tuesday.
[APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- I saw Chris Rock, Chris Tucker.
- Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx.
- Kevin Hart.
GUY TORRY: Every week, sold out.
- It was the neighborhood.
- For the first time, I was able to do Black humor.
- Man, this was really our space.
- Phat Tuesdays was like a melting pot for, like, genius shit.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- Stand up comedy for Black comedians, if it was born out of some specific circumstances.
- We stole my radio, my couch, TV.
- You stole a whole couch?
[LAUGHING]
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- Comedians take these topics, take the stress off people, and make them fucking laugh.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- They blame stealing on us like we invented it. Now, we may have perfected it.
[LAUGHING]
I mean, yeah, we may snatch a purse. But we didn't steal the whole country and call it the United States.
[CHEERING]
- You would come here and the agents would see you. Maybe you'd get signed, maybe you'd get a movie, maybe you'd get a TV show.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- It was one of the great Renaissances of Black comedians being ushered in.
- People became stars, man.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- When we created Wild 'n Out, Phat Tuesday was the model.
- Film, TV, fashion, music. We all were thriving.
- Yo, what's up.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- Phat Tuesday was something very special to witness. To say you were there.
[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]
- I had some fun here tonight.